Ralf Schumacher spots McLaren ‘problems’ after Baku incidents for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri

Follow us on Google Discover

McLaren can win the 2025 F1 constructors’ championship in Baku, but Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have not made clean starts to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend.

The Woking squad are chasing history as the City of Wind stages the 17th round of the 2025 F1 season. Should they claim the F1 constructors’ championship in Baku, McLaren will break the record that Red Bull set in 2023 for the earliest stage that the teams’ title has been won.

Red Bull won the 2023 championship in the 16th of that year’s 22 rounds (72.7%), while this weekend’s Azerbaijan GP is the 17th of this season’s 24 rounds (70.8%). But while Norris led Piastri in a McLaren 1-2 in FP1, the Briton and the Australian only sealed P10 and P12 in FP2.

Norris set the pace in FP1 for the Azerbaijan GP with a 1:42.704, as he beat Piastri by 0.310 seconds. But Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton set the pace in FP2 for the Azerbaijan GP with a 1:41.293, while Norris ended the day 0.906s adrift after only managing to enjoy seven laps.

Ralf Schumacher points to McLaren’s tyre problems after Lando Norris’ Azerbaijan Grand Prix practice crash

Norris crashed in FP2 and broke the left-rear track rod on the 25-year-old’s MCL39 amid his soft tyre qualifying simulation run. The Briton tagged the wall for the second time at Turn 4, having already brushed a barrier, and he was ruled out for the rest of the session as a result.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about the 2025 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku

Piastri also flirted with the limits, but the 24-year-old relished Turn 15 having TecPro barriers after his biggest moment of FP2. The Australian had already suffered a blip on Friday after an issue with his Mercedes engine in FP1, but a red flag meant he did not miss out on much.

Seeing Norris and Piastri both slide into the barriers around Baku during practice this Friday left Ralf Schumacher with a clear feeling that McLaren are “struggling” with the Pirelli tyres. Pirelli has provided its three softest F1 tyre compounds for the Azerbaijan GP this weekend.

Schumacher told Sky Germany: “Norris ran a bit wide. But McLaren had problems in general. Piastri also made mistakes.

“McLaren don’t seem to have the right grip feeling [and] the car is sliding a lot. They can’t get the tyres working, which is why they’re struggling here.”

Pirelli’s softest tyre compounds are proving problematic for more than McLaren in Baku

Pirelli has provided its C4, C5 and C6 2025 F1 tyre compounds for the Azerbaijan GP to try to spice up the show. It has also responded to the big drop-offs in tyre temperatures during previous visits to Baku, where the city streets generally offer low levels of grip and abrasion.

McLaren were not alone in struggling with the softest Pirelli tyre, the C6 compound, around Baku on Friday, either. Carlos Sainz felt Williams did not improve on the soft tyres in Baku in practice, despite some signs of promise on the C5 compound, which is this week’s medium.

Ferrari fear Pirelli’s tyres may affect their Azerbaijan GP hopes on Sunday, as well, as cooling the soft rubber could prove tricky. The Scuderia’s concerns might even grow if Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, who was second-quickest in FP2 by 0.074s, carry their pace into qualifying.